Inspection number 20
Today’s inspection took me to the northern part of Haliburton County, these are always inspections that I enjoy, more just the anticipation of what I will see as I drive up the laneway. The snow is heavy in this area so inspections this time of year always carry a heightened risk factor with them. In most cases there is very little that I can see of the roofing material, so the exercise is to flag areas that are typically problematic and be particularly diligent about looking for repairs or fresh paint to the ceilings and upper walls. In this case the ice damming was extensive on the metal roof; however no indicators were present that would suggest that it has reached the point of causing any interior damage. I believe this to be due to the fact that the eaves projection beyond the walls was at least twice what the normal distance usually is. This was a good design on the builder’s part.
This particular home was of log construction. This is an area of home construction that I find varies greatly when it comes to quality of workmanship. Not all builders are cut out to do log construction.
Log construction has many variations the earliest form would have been, most likely the round log scribed system. Very little hardware if any was needed with this style of log construction. That is not to say that it was not necessary to have skilled carpenters doing the work, on the contrary these early builders had to have their wits about them. Not only was it important that each log was carefully sized and cut but they had to take into consideration how much shrinkage they were going to have, and build in allowances to enable window and doors to still operate freely even after as much as 10inches of log shrinkage had taken place. These early builders were very savvy in understanding the importance of surface and roof drainage. Overhead projection of the roof line well beyond the corners of the building would be the key to longevity. The butt end of any log is it point of greatest vulnerability. In looking at log structure the two most common problems that I find is outside corner rot and rot at the logs that are at grade level. The decay of the log is just the beginning, once we have wet rotting wood that opens the door for the an array of wood boring insects the two that are most prominent are the Powder Post Beatle and our old friend the carpenter ant. Once infested the log home will quickly succumb to the ravaging of these little buggers.
From this point in time to the present the evolution of the log home, like everything else has grown exponentially, new techniques, new systems, prefabricated factory built homes and the list goes on. The log construction that I looked at today was and is the most simplistic of all log construction and even with that it is (so far) standing the test of time. At a young 22 years of age things were weathering pretty well. The log style in this home is a simple lap joint on the corners with (I assume) a dowel driven through to maintain alignment of the outside corners. No scribing here, no carful fitting just a timber (5x5 squared hemlock logs) stacked on top of one another. This style of construction leaves a gap between each log which in turn is filled with “chinking”. In the early days chinking was a combination of mud and grasses that were mixed into a paste and then forced by hand into the voids between the logs. Chinking has seen a steady evolution from there, the next product was mortar and then a bitumen (various dark mixtures of hydrocarbons) product, and finally the product of choice today is a synthetic mixture that is commonly referred to as “pema-chink”. Perma-chink is a very thinly applied highly flexible product that is placed over a backer rod( foam dowel) or a high density Styrofoam. The Home that I was looking at had used the bitumen product which, with age and weathering had receded back inside the log by and easy inch and a half. This can certainly start to cause problems of water infiltration and wet wood and that means rot and insects. The good news for my client was that it had not evolved to that point yet.
Major Concern: exterior log repair. My client felt that this was manageable and moved ahead with the purchase of his cottage.
Hey, it has been great having you along for the ride
See you next time
m
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
first inspection of Feb
Hello, very nice to have you back for another inspection adventure. On February 3rd I found myself back in the City of Kawartha Lakes looking through yet another century home. Rarely does it seem like you see very many single story bungalows that are circa 1900’s. This 800 sq. Ft. Bungalow had had an addition or two put on it to bump the size up to I would guess around 1300 sq. Ft.
It is always somewhat of a challenge to establish whether these brick clad homes are solid masonry or a brick veneer home. Early in my career my arrogance and inexperience caused me to be very cocky about defining, without question (I thought) if the home I was looking at was solid or veneer. The tell tale that an inspector typically looks for is the “tie in brick”. To better define that for you, if you envision a brick home the bricks that you see in your mind’s eye are referred to as “stretcher bricks”. On a solid masonry home, that being defined as a home that the brick work is structural to the home rather than just a siding. The solid brick home will have two, three or four courses of brick thick that makes up the exterior of the home. The “tie bricks” run at a right angle to the stretcher bricks the purpose of this is to, you guessed it; tie in the inner courses of brick.
Each mason had his own signature way of placing these tie bricks. In most cases the mason would run six courses of stretchers and then one course of ties. Where I became humbled was in a little town in Pennsylvania where I was watching the demolition of a century home. During the workers lunch I decided to sneak a closer look and to my surprise there was no tie bricks to be seen. On a closer look I realized that the mason had recessed the tie brick by about an inch and a half in from the outside face of the brick and then split a stretcher brick to cover the butt end of the tie brick. Very clever.
I have come across that only a couple of times since in Ontario, but lesson learned as far as stating that the home is or is not a solid brick home right off the hop.
As I did my second exterior pass with my client (the micro pass) I had notice something that I had missed on my first macro pass. On one of the mortar joints I noticed it had some small circular(1/4 inch) repairs, then I noticed that about every 36 inches up the same pattern existed................ what is your guess? If it is Urea formaldehyde foam insulation (better known as UFFI) you are correct. However I did not jump to that conclusion right away. I explained to my client what my thoughts were and explained to him that this type of repair is representative to the injection holes that were used to blow in the liquid foam product. I then told him that I would like to reserve judgment until I got inside to see if there were any more clues that would lead to the same conclusion. Once inside I made my way to the cellar / crawlspace. The first tell tale was present. Hanging from the ceiling, covered in cobwebs from lack of use and maintenance was a mechanical air exchange unit better known as an HRV or heat recovery ventilator. This was certainly a first generation model due to the fact that the fans were on the outside of the unit. The idea was that the UFFI was felt to be out gassing both urea and formaldehyde and for that reason a mechanical air exchange unit was installed to ensure against contaminated indoor air quality. I am pretty confident that the home has UFFI in it now, but I continue to look for more tell tales. The next thing to check is where the floor joist sits on top of the foundation. At this point the wall is placed on the subfloor directly above the foundation. The clue I am looking for here is that quite often the UFFI installers would run a bead of caulking around the ends of the floor joist and on the underside of the wood subfloor. This was done so as to ensure that the UFFI did not run or drip down into the cellar, due to the fact that it stayed in its liquid form for a longer period of time than what the foam products of today do. My final tell tale to look for was signs of the actual product and as I wiggled back into the crawlspace ( remember where all sins lay) low and behold the pale white almost fluffy looking stuff was there in a place where the insulation company did not do any caulking. Now my client discloser begins
UFFI was a product of the mid to late seventies and even as late as the early eighties. In most cases it was a retrofit or upgrade product. During this period of time the Federal government introduced an incentive program called C.H.I.P.S ( not a 100% on the acronym) Canada Home Insulation Program. During this insulation incentive program the government was subsidising households that did attic and wall insulation upgrades. Soon thereafter people began to experience various health concerns that were contribute to the out gassing products from the insulation. An important bit of information to understand about this product is that the harmful out gassing had a half life of about 6 months. What that means is that every six months the product would out gas half as much, and the next six months that half would be cut in half and so on. It should be logical then that if the product was, in the worst case scenario blown in around 1980, the ill effects of the out gassing should be immeasurable. The only time that this statement would be inaccurate would be if the foam was allowed to become very wet, at which point there may be some degree of out gassing. Here is some prospective for you. If you are subjected to any second hand smoke in your day that is by far a bigger health concern than 30 year old UFFI. Another point of interest is that I believe this product is still used in Europe.
Regardless of the minimal to no health impact this product has it still carries a stigmatisum about it that will impact Real Estate prices
Well it has been great having you along, hope to see you again on the next inspection
m
It is always somewhat of a challenge to establish whether these brick clad homes are solid masonry or a brick veneer home. Early in my career my arrogance and inexperience caused me to be very cocky about defining, without question (I thought) if the home I was looking at was solid or veneer. The tell tale that an inspector typically looks for is the “tie in brick”. To better define that for you, if you envision a brick home the bricks that you see in your mind’s eye are referred to as “stretcher bricks”. On a solid masonry home, that being defined as a home that the brick work is structural to the home rather than just a siding. The solid brick home will have two, three or four courses of brick thick that makes up the exterior of the home. The “tie bricks” run at a right angle to the stretcher bricks the purpose of this is to, you guessed it; tie in the inner courses of brick.
Each mason had his own signature way of placing these tie bricks. In most cases the mason would run six courses of stretchers and then one course of ties. Where I became humbled was in a little town in Pennsylvania where I was watching the demolition of a century home. During the workers lunch I decided to sneak a closer look and to my surprise there was no tie bricks to be seen. On a closer look I realized that the mason had recessed the tie brick by about an inch and a half in from the outside face of the brick and then split a stretcher brick to cover the butt end of the tie brick. Very clever.
I have come across that only a couple of times since in Ontario, but lesson learned as far as stating that the home is or is not a solid brick home right off the hop.
As I did my second exterior pass with my client (the micro pass) I had notice something that I had missed on my first macro pass. On one of the mortar joints I noticed it had some small circular(1/4 inch) repairs, then I noticed that about every 36 inches up the same pattern existed................ what is your guess? If it is Urea formaldehyde foam insulation (better known as UFFI) you are correct. However I did not jump to that conclusion right away. I explained to my client what my thoughts were and explained to him that this type of repair is representative to the injection holes that were used to blow in the liquid foam product. I then told him that I would like to reserve judgment until I got inside to see if there were any more clues that would lead to the same conclusion. Once inside I made my way to the cellar / crawlspace. The first tell tale was present. Hanging from the ceiling, covered in cobwebs from lack of use and maintenance was a mechanical air exchange unit better known as an HRV or heat recovery ventilator. This was certainly a first generation model due to the fact that the fans were on the outside of the unit. The idea was that the UFFI was felt to be out gassing both urea and formaldehyde and for that reason a mechanical air exchange unit was installed to ensure against contaminated indoor air quality. I am pretty confident that the home has UFFI in it now, but I continue to look for more tell tales. The next thing to check is where the floor joist sits on top of the foundation. At this point the wall is placed on the subfloor directly above the foundation. The clue I am looking for here is that quite often the UFFI installers would run a bead of caulking around the ends of the floor joist and on the underside of the wood subfloor. This was done so as to ensure that the UFFI did not run or drip down into the cellar, due to the fact that it stayed in its liquid form for a longer period of time than what the foam products of today do. My final tell tale to look for was signs of the actual product and as I wiggled back into the crawlspace ( remember where all sins lay) low and behold the pale white almost fluffy looking stuff was there in a place where the insulation company did not do any caulking. Now my client discloser begins
UFFI was a product of the mid to late seventies and even as late as the early eighties. In most cases it was a retrofit or upgrade product. During this period of time the Federal government introduced an incentive program called C.H.I.P.S ( not a 100% on the acronym) Canada Home Insulation Program. During this insulation incentive program the government was subsidising households that did attic and wall insulation upgrades. Soon thereafter people began to experience various health concerns that were contribute to the out gassing products from the insulation. An important bit of information to understand about this product is that the harmful out gassing had a half life of about 6 months. What that means is that every six months the product would out gas half as much, and the next six months that half would be cut in half and so on. It should be logical then that if the product was, in the worst case scenario blown in around 1980, the ill effects of the out gassing should be immeasurable. The only time that this statement would be inaccurate would be if the foam was allowed to become very wet, at which point there may be some degree of out gassing. Here is some prospective for you. If you are subjected to any second hand smoke in your day that is by far a bigger health concern than 30 year old UFFI. Another point of interest is that I believe this product is still used in Europe.
Regardless of the minimal to no health impact this product has it still carries a stigmatisum about it that will impact Real Estate prices
Well it has been great having you along, hope to see you again on the next inspection
m
Sunday, January 31, 2010
inspection number 18 made the quota
Jan 30 10 Inspection #18
My last inspection of the month took me to the Bancroft area this would represent number 18 for the month. For anyone that is counting the posts you will notice that the documenting of every single inspection has not happened. The reason for this can be summed up in one word BORING very often it is simply going through the motions. Yes this is good news for the home buying public. A boring inspection for me is a good inspection for the buyers in most cases. Occasionally I will come across a home that is very interesting either due to architecture or just the quality of work. It is a good job to have when you can go into the home and your explanations are about superior workmanship or clever ingenuity. Everyone walks away feeling good.
My Bancroft inspection was interesting, but not for any of the above reasons. It was interesting for the reason that, thanks to Mother Nature I was able to visualize one of the many theories that I speak about when trying to explain what has caused the defects that I have found. In this case it was in a crawlspace (Remember in the past postings I mentioned where the bulk of the sins are found) The situation that I found was a convection current of air within the cavity of hollow masonry foundation wall, and how as warm air rises up through the hollow cavity it picks up moisture that is laying in a liquid form with in the this space. Due to improper surface drainage the ground has been saturated to the point where it has placed a hydrostatic pressure against the foundation thereby causing water to penetrate the mass of the block.
As this warm moist air rises up the cavity of the block foundation, it reaches the top and comes into contact with the bottom of the wood sill plate, rim joist and floor joist where the warm air condenses, (due to the below freezing temp.) turns to moisture and forms frost. This is where Mother Nature came in. The day of the inspection it was -15 c outside and colder inside( no heat in the building ) due to this I was able to see a complete frost line of how the moisture laden air was moving as it left a perfect imprint on the framing that it came into contact with it. This condition, left unaddressed quickly leads to significant structural problems, mould and wood rot.
The good news is that at this stage the problem was easily addressed. Correcting the cause of the problem is the first step. Eaves trough clean and in good working order, down spouts that extend a minimum of 4 feet from the building and finally ensuring that the grade is such that the water runs away from the building. Once this is done the next step is to seal the top course of block to eliminate the convection current of air within the bock cavity. This can be done with spray foam insulation or with masonry.
Crawl spaces can have a wide array of concerns, you can be sure that we will talk about them again in the very near future.
Thanks for tagging along
m
My last inspection of the month took me to the Bancroft area this would represent number 18 for the month. For anyone that is counting the posts you will notice that the documenting of every single inspection has not happened. The reason for this can be summed up in one word BORING very often it is simply going through the motions. Yes this is good news for the home buying public. A boring inspection for me is a good inspection for the buyers in most cases. Occasionally I will come across a home that is very interesting either due to architecture or just the quality of work. It is a good job to have when you can go into the home and your explanations are about superior workmanship or clever ingenuity. Everyone walks away feeling good.
My Bancroft inspection was interesting, but not for any of the above reasons. It was interesting for the reason that, thanks to Mother Nature I was able to visualize one of the many theories that I speak about when trying to explain what has caused the defects that I have found. In this case it was in a crawlspace (Remember in the past postings I mentioned where the bulk of the sins are found) The situation that I found was a convection current of air within the cavity of hollow masonry foundation wall, and how as warm air rises up through the hollow cavity it picks up moisture that is laying in a liquid form with in the this space. Due to improper surface drainage the ground has been saturated to the point where it has placed a hydrostatic pressure against the foundation thereby causing water to penetrate the mass of the block.
As this warm moist air rises up the cavity of the block foundation, it reaches the top and comes into contact with the bottom of the wood sill plate, rim joist and floor joist where the warm air condenses, (due to the below freezing temp.) turns to moisture and forms frost. This is where Mother Nature came in. The day of the inspection it was -15 c outside and colder inside( no heat in the building ) due to this I was able to see a complete frost line of how the moisture laden air was moving as it left a perfect imprint on the framing that it came into contact with it. This condition, left unaddressed quickly leads to significant structural problems, mould and wood rot.
The good news is that at this stage the problem was easily addressed. Correcting the cause of the problem is the first step. Eaves trough clean and in good working order, down spouts that extend a minimum of 4 feet from the building and finally ensuring that the grade is such that the water runs away from the building. Once this is done the next step is to seal the top course of block to eliminate the convection current of air within the bock cavity. This can be done with spray foam insulation or with masonry.
Crawl spaces can have a wide array of concerns, you can be sure that we will talk about them again in the very near future.
Thanks for tagging along
m
Thursday, January 28, 2010
lucky number 13
Number 13
Today’s inspection takes me to the snowy north county of Haliburton County. The inspections here are always a mixed bag of nuts, and the same could be said for the clients. I certainly do not mean this in a malicious way I find the mixed bag of people to be very interesting that I get to work with. Just watching how the family interacts during the inspection. Spending three plus hours with total strangers is as interesting as you want to make it. I have actually come to like clients that provide me with challenges that go beyond the standard inspection, whether it is shyness, sarcasm, differing opinions, or even just the very stern executive type. The list goes on and it is my job to pull each and every one of them into my little realm of understanding. Most times, I think I am successful. In some cases they are just too tough for a mere home inspector to figure out. Houses fall under the same category in the north each one has its own little oddities (which may be representative of the last owner). The term, “cookie cutter” housing does not have a place up here. Two alike, maybe they will be close but not alike. Winter inspections in the north do, on occasion provide me with a heck of a lot of discomfort, crawlspaces on their own suck on a cosmic level, add frozen dirt and snow and you now have( should you choose to don the coveralls and follow me under)experienced a small sliver of hell on earth. This is where all the sins lay. The good news is that this cottage had, yes, wait for it........ FULL BASEMENT. I can’t even begin to explain the internal smile I am packing when I discover this. It gets even better a concrete floor with no rock outcrops. The block foundation is mint! This has everything to do with the fact that the builder/ planner knew what they were doing right from the inception of this 1400 sq ft bungalow type cottage. Cottages as a rule (at least in Haliburton county) are always build on a hill, road at the back and lake at the front. When placing a cottage on its site drainage should always be of the utmost consideration, especially when the building is going to be intercepting every drop of water, frozen of liquid that runs down that hill. Now that it has been decided to intentionally place a dam (cottage) in the middle of this hill it is important not to compound the problem by building a roof line that is draining in such a fashion that the water that runs off the roof then tries to run through or under the building. The rain and snow that come off the roof line at the front (lakeside) of the building then splashes off the deck, damaging it and splash back that eventually damages the siding. The good rule of thumb is to ensure that your ridge line is running parallel to the slope of the ground or to look at it another way it is good if the ridge line of your roof is pointing at the lake and the road. This way water and snow from the roof can easily be shed away from the building. This cottage was a pleasure to inspect and my clients and the agent were all great. Ya kind of mushy but hey when I get them like this one it’s not even like a job
Thanks for tagging along (next time bring your coveralls)
m
Today’s inspection takes me to the snowy north county of Haliburton County. The inspections here are always a mixed bag of nuts, and the same could be said for the clients. I certainly do not mean this in a malicious way I find the mixed bag of people to be very interesting that I get to work with. Just watching how the family interacts during the inspection. Spending three plus hours with total strangers is as interesting as you want to make it. I have actually come to like clients that provide me with challenges that go beyond the standard inspection, whether it is shyness, sarcasm, differing opinions, or even just the very stern executive type. The list goes on and it is my job to pull each and every one of them into my little realm of understanding. Most times, I think I am successful. In some cases they are just too tough for a mere home inspector to figure out. Houses fall under the same category in the north each one has its own little oddities (which may be representative of the last owner). The term, “cookie cutter” housing does not have a place up here. Two alike, maybe they will be close but not alike. Winter inspections in the north do, on occasion provide me with a heck of a lot of discomfort, crawlspaces on their own suck on a cosmic level, add frozen dirt and snow and you now have( should you choose to don the coveralls and follow me under)experienced a small sliver of hell on earth. This is where all the sins lay. The good news is that this cottage had, yes, wait for it........ FULL BASEMENT. I can’t even begin to explain the internal smile I am packing when I discover this. It gets even better a concrete floor with no rock outcrops. The block foundation is mint! This has everything to do with the fact that the builder/ planner knew what they were doing right from the inception of this 1400 sq ft bungalow type cottage. Cottages as a rule (at least in Haliburton county) are always build on a hill, road at the back and lake at the front. When placing a cottage on its site drainage should always be of the utmost consideration, especially when the building is going to be intercepting every drop of water, frozen of liquid that runs down that hill. Now that it has been decided to intentionally place a dam (cottage) in the middle of this hill it is important not to compound the problem by building a roof line that is draining in such a fashion that the water that runs off the roof then tries to run through or under the building. The rain and snow that come off the roof line at the front (lakeside) of the building then splashes off the deck, damaging it and splash back that eventually damages the siding. The good rule of thumb is to ensure that your ridge line is running parallel to the slope of the ground or to look at it another way it is good if the ridge line of your roof is pointing at the lake and the road. This way water and snow from the roof can easily be shed away from the building. This cottage was a pleasure to inspect and my clients and the agent were all great. Ya kind of mushy but hey when I get them like this one it’s not even like a job
Thanks for tagging along (next time bring your coveralls)
m
this is number 12
Inspection number 12
Today’s inspection takes us through yet another century home. Rarely do you ever encounter an inspection from this era of housing that constitutes a boring inspection. It may be the original workmanship, or the unique design and layout, unfortunately in some cases it is the ingenuity and creativity of one of the previous home owners that makes you step back and say “what the heck were you thinking”. In any case I find that every century home provides me with some degree of a learning curve. Quite often I will joke with my clients about what I like to refer to as “pink and blue” money. Let me explain, Moving into a century home can be a very expensive venture. One of the most common denominators that I find is that rarely is there a balance of cosmetic and mechanical work done. To walk into a century home and find that the interior wall and ceiling cracks (plaster) have either been repaired or covered with another finish, in most cases it will be drywall is common. The hardwood floors, typically maple or oak will have been refinished or replaced. The hardwood product that is most common in the century homes was a 3/8’s inch thick by 2 3/8’s inch wide wood floor. Replacement of this floor is often due to the fact that they have already been sanded to the point where the top groove of the tongue and groove (T&G) system will be so thin that it will splinter off. Under the hard wood is the 6 inch T&G pine subfloor, it will be at least one inch and possibly two inches thick. This is often also used as the finished flooring, coming to my own conclusion, I think that the flooring of the old homes said a lot about the financial position of the original family. In farm houses from this era you may not see any hardwood installed, it may, and often is the pine subfloor that is used as the finish flooring. Moving into the towns or cities you start seeing the hardwood used as a finish floor over top of the pine subfloor at the main levels. I also come into homes that have the hardwood covering the pine subfloor on the second story thus causing me to assume that this was likely a home of notoriety in its beginnings. Other cosmetics such as the windows (which could be argued is not really just a cosmetic upgrade) kitchens and bathrooms have all had the lion’s share of the renovation money.
Proceeding into the cellar I notice that the furnace is 20 years or older the service panel is still a fuse box, suggesting that some of the original “knob and tube wiring may still be present. I notice that only a small portion of the plumbing has been upgraded where new bath and kitchen supply and drains were required. Up in the attic it is probable that no insulation upgrade will have happened.
This is a pink house. Should the roles be reversed than it would be a blue house.
One of the interesting things that I came across in this home was the use of a wall sluice.
A hundred years ago or so, the efforts to deal with basement seepage was not of the highest priority during the construction of the stone cellars with earth floors. The use of the this space was intended as storage for maybe preserves and fuels (wood , coal) a place for your furnace and if you had one a hot water tank and a cistern. There was no thought to provide any type of water proofing material or products, in all likely- hood there was simply nothing available to use. Years later when and if spring runoff or heavy rains became a problem remedial work often took place inside the building rather than the outside. One such system was the wall sluice. Simple in its manner, a trough was cut into the floor slab or possibly a wooden embedded part was laid into the wet concrete at the time of pouring to create a small “ditch” all around the perimeter of the building, curiously, I would see this system in homes and there would be no pick up point for the water. This was always a puzzle to me. Then the light came on! During another inspection some years ago I was doing an insurance inspection on an old farmers, old house. In one sense it was very cool it was Original. It had had virtually nothing done to it. ( it still had all the old stove pipes snaking through out the rooms in the home.) Low and behold in the cellar is the wall sluice but running through (or sitting in) the entire sluice are cedar rails. Sponge’s. The cedar rail sucks up the water and the water evaporate, or humidifies the home. What do you think? Sounds pretty good to me but of course once again this is a conclusion that I have come to on my own.
I can only assume that it must have worked pretty good for them due to the fact that the only time that I see a catch point, like a sump pump is when someone has retrofitted one in after the fact.
In this particular century home the owners felt that it was best to fill the sluice with kitty litter. Probable did not work quite as well as the cedar rails.
Hey it’s been fun. Thanks for dropping by.
See you next time on homeinspectiontoday.blogspot.com
m
Today’s inspection takes us through yet another century home. Rarely do you ever encounter an inspection from this era of housing that constitutes a boring inspection. It may be the original workmanship, or the unique design and layout, unfortunately in some cases it is the ingenuity and creativity of one of the previous home owners that makes you step back and say “what the heck were you thinking”. In any case I find that every century home provides me with some degree of a learning curve. Quite often I will joke with my clients about what I like to refer to as “pink and blue” money. Let me explain, Moving into a century home can be a very expensive venture. One of the most common denominators that I find is that rarely is there a balance of cosmetic and mechanical work done. To walk into a century home and find that the interior wall and ceiling cracks (plaster) have either been repaired or covered with another finish, in most cases it will be drywall is common. The hardwood floors, typically maple or oak will have been refinished or replaced. The hardwood product that is most common in the century homes was a 3/8’s inch thick by 2 3/8’s inch wide wood floor. Replacement of this floor is often due to the fact that they have already been sanded to the point where the top groove of the tongue and groove (T&G) system will be so thin that it will splinter off. Under the hard wood is the 6 inch T&G pine subfloor, it will be at least one inch and possibly two inches thick. This is often also used as the finished flooring, coming to my own conclusion, I think that the flooring of the old homes said a lot about the financial position of the original family. In farm houses from this era you may not see any hardwood installed, it may, and often is the pine subfloor that is used as the finish flooring. Moving into the towns or cities you start seeing the hardwood used as a finish floor over top of the pine subfloor at the main levels. I also come into homes that have the hardwood covering the pine subfloor on the second story thus causing me to assume that this was likely a home of notoriety in its beginnings. Other cosmetics such as the windows (which could be argued is not really just a cosmetic upgrade) kitchens and bathrooms have all had the lion’s share of the renovation money.
Proceeding into the cellar I notice that the furnace is 20 years or older the service panel is still a fuse box, suggesting that some of the original “knob and tube wiring may still be present. I notice that only a small portion of the plumbing has been upgraded where new bath and kitchen supply and drains were required. Up in the attic it is probable that no insulation upgrade will have happened.
This is a pink house. Should the roles be reversed than it would be a blue house.
One of the interesting things that I came across in this home was the use of a wall sluice.
A hundred years ago or so, the efforts to deal with basement seepage was not of the highest priority during the construction of the stone cellars with earth floors. The use of the this space was intended as storage for maybe preserves and fuels (wood , coal) a place for your furnace and if you had one a hot water tank and a cistern. There was no thought to provide any type of water proofing material or products, in all likely- hood there was simply nothing available to use. Years later when and if spring runoff or heavy rains became a problem remedial work often took place inside the building rather than the outside. One such system was the wall sluice. Simple in its manner, a trough was cut into the floor slab or possibly a wooden embedded part was laid into the wet concrete at the time of pouring to create a small “ditch” all around the perimeter of the building, curiously, I would see this system in homes and there would be no pick up point for the water. This was always a puzzle to me. Then the light came on! During another inspection some years ago I was doing an insurance inspection on an old farmers, old house. In one sense it was very cool it was Original. It had had virtually nothing done to it. ( it still had all the old stove pipes snaking through out the rooms in the home.) Low and behold in the cellar is the wall sluice but running through (or sitting in) the entire sluice are cedar rails. Sponge’s. The cedar rail sucks up the water and the water evaporate, or humidifies the home. What do you think? Sounds pretty good to me but of course once again this is a conclusion that I have come to on my own.
I can only assume that it must have worked pretty good for them due to the fact that the only time that I see a catch point, like a sump pump is when someone has retrofitted one in after the fact.
In this particular century home the owners felt that it was best to fill the sluice with kitty litter. Probable did not work quite as well as the cedar rails.
Hey it’s been fun. Thanks for dropping by.
See you next time on homeinspectiontoday.blogspot.com
m
Monday, January 25, 2010
Inspection number 11
The eleventh inspection of the year started out being interesting in that it was a unique salt box construction. This style of home seems to be more popular along the eastern seaboard. It is along the same lines as a gable roof, the only difference is that the two slopes are at a different pitch, the lesser of the two slopes is also a shorter roof surface. It is a style of construction that is very typical of the Atlantic water front properties. The second story is very much a loft style with an upstairs hall that runs parallel with the length of the building that allows you to look down onto the main floor. As did the house I inspected a pair of skylights often adorn the steeper pitched roof slope which faces the water front. While skylights can be a very nice asset to the home in the form of additional natural light, they suffer a bad rap due to the condensation problems, contribution to ice damming and flashing leakage at the roof line. Truth be told the bulk of these concerns are all installer related. In my opinion there is only one skylight that is truly worth its salt. The “Velux” lights have a superior flashing system that when placed properly ( not in bathrooms or kitchens) and a proper side wall (light shaft) insulation has been done, preferably spray foam, this type of light can give you years of trouble free service.
Strangely enough this home had wood shakes, split one side and sawed on the other. This is a type of shingle that I do not see often and all of a sudden I see them twice in a two week span, very cool! Unfortunately for my client we had just had a fresh snow fall and I could see none of the shakes except for the rake of the roof (the edges of the shakes) and to compound this limitation, no attic access. The frustrating part of this is that the house is only 4 years old. The Building Official dropped the ball on this one.
The home was built by the homeowner, while he did a pretty good job on the framing, (although the squash blocks were missed again on the engineered floor joist again) finish work was not his forte. It pains me to see people spending large on high end interior finishes and then bastardize the installation. One of the common things that I find on new construction is that they receive their final permit and then the basement renovations begin, without a permit. In this case the owner had decided to put in a four piece bath in the basement. On rural properties that utilize On- Site Waste Water Systems, (septic system) in most cases plumbing that is in the basement requires a pumping system to elevate the waste to the discharge pipe that is usually passing through the wall about four feet off the floor. A sewage ejection pump is typically installed in the floor and all waste water in the basement is piped from the source (tub, toilet, basin, laundry) underground to the plastic containment pit. From there a macerating pump mulches the waste and pumps it to the septic tank. Depending on the amount of below slab piping this system can add easily $6000 to a bathroom installation. Here’s the good news, there is a toilet system called “Sani-Plus System”, this ingenious system incorporates a macerating pump in the back of the toilet, what’s really cool about this toilet is that the basin and the shower can be pumped into the back of the toilet. The price of this toilet is about $1000. Now, there is always a down side, and here it is. A very small reservoir means that the pump runs a lot. This in itself is not the problem, it’s the dam noise. In the case of my clients prospective home, it had one of these little toilet systems. However the installation was not without concerns. In addition to the basin and shower that drained into the Sani Plus toilet the builder also drained the large whirlpool bath into it. This is a huge volume of water for the pump, because it was an application that I had never seen before (for that matter I had never seen a regular tub on that type of system either) I suggested to my client that he would have to check with them manufacture to verify that type of use. The tub installation had other concerns. To supply power to the tub the builder installed a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) receptacle which is what was required, the problem was that he had plugged the toilet (remember it has a pump in it) into the same receptacle. Number one, all motor loads require a designated circuit, number two you sure do not want your pump dependent toilet to be on a ground fault receptacle. GFCI plug trips and you do not realize it, the toilet over flows. Yes that is what happened during the inspection. So now I have black water running out of the tank all over the floor. Shit (pun intended). We are not done with the tub yet. All whirlpool tubs require access to the pump ( for what I consider to be obvious reasons) The builder in this case did not feel that way and saw fit to use construction adhesive to seal all the panels on. I was able to squeeze in under a stair case that was on the wall behind the tub, while I was not able to access the pump or motor I was able to see yet another problem.
Mechanical venting, Air admittance valve, or cheater valves as they are more commonly referred to as, are a mechanism that is used to replace a proper plumbing vent system. It is a simple device, it is a check valve that is screwed into a fitting (often a horizontal leg coming off the drain pipe) when it feels water pressure going down the pipe the valve opens and takes in air. When there is no longer any water pressure the valve closes to ensure that no sewer/ septic gases can enter the home. As of the 2006 building code revision this is now an acceptable installation, as long as it is accessible. That is the point that the builder did just not get, when I was peaking in the small hole under the stairwell, low and behold there is a cheater valve up in the wall cavity. No possible way to access that one.
What concerns me about a bathroom that has so much amature work is the fact that I know I can only see 2/3rd’s of the problems in this house. If this is what I can see, what else is looming behind these walls?
Hey thanks for tagging along
m
The eleventh inspection of the year started out being interesting in that it was a unique salt box construction. This style of home seems to be more popular along the eastern seaboard. It is along the same lines as a gable roof, the only difference is that the two slopes are at a different pitch, the lesser of the two slopes is also a shorter roof surface. It is a style of construction that is very typical of the Atlantic water front properties. The second story is very much a loft style with an upstairs hall that runs parallel with the length of the building that allows you to look down onto the main floor. As did the house I inspected a pair of skylights often adorn the steeper pitched roof slope which faces the water front. While skylights can be a very nice asset to the home in the form of additional natural light, they suffer a bad rap due to the condensation problems, contribution to ice damming and flashing leakage at the roof line. Truth be told the bulk of these concerns are all installer related. In my opinion there is only one skylight that is truly worth its salt. The “Velux” lights have a superior flashing system that when placed properly ( not in bathrooms or kitchens) and a proper side wall (light shaft) insulation has been done, preferably spray foam, this type of light can give you years of trouble free service.
Strangely enough this home had wood shakes, split one side and sawed on the other. This is a type of shingle that I do not see often and all of a sudden I see them twice in a two week span, very cool! Unfortunately for my client we had just had a fresh snow fall and I could see none of the shakes except for the rake of the roof (the edges of the shakes) and to compound this limitation, no attic access. The frustrating part of this is that the house is only 4 years old. The Building Official dropped the ball on this one.
The home was built by the homeowner, while he did a pretty good job on the framing, (although the squash blocks were missed again on the engineered floor joist again) finish work was not his forte. It pains me to see people spending large on high end interior finishes and then bastardize the installation. One of the common things that I find on new construction is that they receive their final permit and then the basement renovations begin, without a permit. In this case the owner had decided to put in a four piece bath in the basement. On rural properties that utilize On- Site Waste Water Systems, (septic system) in most cases plumbing that is in the basement requires a pumping system to elevate the waste to the discharge pipe that is usually passing through the wall about four feet off the floor. A sewage ejection pump is typically installed in the floor and all waste water in the basement is piped from the source (tub, toilet, basin, laundry) underground to the plastic containment pit. From there a macerating pump mulches the waste and pumps it to the septic tank. Depending on the amount of below slab piping this system can add easily $6000 to a bathroom installation. Here’s the good news, there is a toilet system called “Sani-Plus System”, this ingenious system incorporates a macerating pump in the back of the toilet, what’s really cool about this toilet is that the basin and the shower can be pumped into the back of the toilet. The price of this toilet is about $1000. Now, there is always a down side, and here it is. A very small reservoir means that the pump runs a lot. This in itself is not the problem, it’s the dam noise. In the case of my clients prospective home, it had one of these little toilet systems. However the installation was not without concerns. In addition to the basin and shower that drained into the Sani Plus toilet the builder also drained the large whirlpool bath into it. This is a huge volume of water for the pump, because it was an application that I had never seen before (for that matter I had never seen a regular tub on that type of system either) I suggested to my client that he would have to check with them manufacture to verify that type of use. The tub installation had other concerns. To supply power to the tub the builder installed a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) receptacle which is what was required, the problem was that he had plugged the toilet (remember it has a pump in it) into the same receptacle. Number one, all motor loads require a designated circuit, number two you sure do not want your pump dependent toilet to be on a ground fault receptacle. GFCI plug trips and you do not realize it, the toilet over flows. Yes that is what happened during the inspection. So now I have black water running out of the tank all over the floor. Shit (pun intended). We are not done with the tub yet. All whirlpool tubs require access to the pump ( for what I consider to be obvious reasons) The builder in this case did not feel that way and saw fit to use construction adhesive to seal all the panels on. I was able to squeeze in under a stair case that was on the wall behind the tub, while I was not able to access the pump or motor I was able to see yet another problem.
Mechanical venting, Air admittance valve, or cheater valves as they are more commonly referred to as, are a mechanism that is used to replace a proper plumbing vent system. It is a simple device, it is a check valve that is screwed into a fitting (often a horizontal leg coming off the drain pipe) when it feels water pressure going down the pipe the valve opens and takes in air. When there is no longer any water pressure the valve closes to ensure that no sewer/ septic gases can enter the home. As of the 2006 building code revision this is now an acceptable installation, as long as it is accessible. That is the point that the builder did just not get, when I was peaking in the small hole under the stairwell, low and behold there is a cheater valve up in the wall cavity. No possible way to access that one.
What concerns me about a bathroom that has so much amature work is the fact that I know I can only see 2/3rd’s of the problems in this house. If this is what I can see, what else is looming behind these walls?
Hey thanks for tagging along
m
Inspection number 9:
Hello, nice to see that you are tuning in for yet another home inspection. The adventure today takes us to the City of Kawartha Lakes, This was an interesting inspection for me. Not your typical home, you could almost say that this house was in disguise.
As I sit in my office filling out my report system in preparation for the afternoon inspection I try to predict what type of home I will be looking at. I am very accustom to the area I have done thousands of inspection over my career in this part of the city. Century home, I surmise. Maybe a large two story, possibly even a three story, there is a chance that it could be a home from the 50’s as well. Pulling up to the site about 15minutes early I pull up to the driveway and then park just out front of the house, on the street. (another good practice, if you have another inspection to get to the last thing you will want is to be stuck with the agent and buyers car blocking you in.) I am puzzled?
The home has a very traditional 3 story look about it, a small back room addition, standard Hip roof line with dormers. The puzzle is the siding. A brick veneer which is not uncommon but this exterior finish is missing the tradition brick arches over windows and doors and is a very odd colour, almost a pale white colour. Not what you typically see on century homes. Other clues are that there are some weeping holes present in the veneer. This practice to the best of my knowledge did not start happening until the mid to late sixties. Even then they were used sparsely. The concept of brick veneer weepers is twofold. The first consideration is to provide an avenue for moisture to escape. The brick veneer should be maintaining an air space of about one inch. Inevitably all homes will experience some degree of heat loss through their walls. When this heat loss passes through the building envelope the warm air comes into contact with the colder exterior finish, the warm air cools, condenses and turns to moisture and in theory, via the weep holes has an avenue to pass through the brick work. The second purpose of the weeping holes is that they allow the equalizing of air pressure on both sides of the veneer there by resisting the movement of exterior driven vapour or moisture from entering into the wall cavity.
When my client arrives I give the standard disclosure of what the process will entail and I ask her if the agents gave her an approximate age for the home? The young lady buying the home replies “Yes, they believe it is about 35 years of age”. I consider that for a moment and then proceed to tell my client that that estimate may be a little off and while we are going through the inspection I will try to establish a little more accurate circa of age for her. The first tell tale is present as soon as I walk in the front door. As we pass into the entrance we are greeted by a beautiful pine stair case that has been completely painted with a very dark choice of finish, but the beautiful lines of the meticulously turned balusters and the stout curves of the newel post are screaming “I am a century old”. Prior to commenting, I wonder if it has simply been recycled from another home. As I quickly scan the floor plan it is certainly not a typical layout for a 100 year old home. I am intrigued. I am excited to get down into the cellar to see what is going on down there. (true sign of a house geek) Time to start the head scratch, the foundation is concrete block. If I was looking at a century old basement, surely I would be looking at stone or maybe a first generation, very porous concrete pour. I reserve judgement until I can get a little more of the puzzle. I was hopeful that I was going to be able to see some of the floor framing, but no luck there, the ceiling has been completely sheathed with plywood. My next clue is when I start to check what we refer to as a representative number of receptacles I find that I am seeing a large amount of ungrounded circuits. The service panel had been upgraded but still had some of the old ungrounded romex wire. This is a good clue to age I now know that this wiring was done in the late 40’s or early 50’s. Once I get to the 3rd story another clue is uncovered, “vermiculite insulation” this product had two strong spurts of use. The first was in the early 50’s which is matching the age of the wiring. The second was in the late 70’s and early 80’s. This second era of use is the basis for my only real major concern as we go through the inspection.
The vermiculite insulation that was used in the 70’s had two main producer of this product, the name brands used were “Micafil” and “Zonolite” The concern is that the Zonolite was discovered to have a higher than acceptable level of asbestos within the product. While the remedial actions as prescribed by Health Canada and CMHC are relatively simple, encapsulation (cover with another insulating product).Assuming the insulation is not disturbed the health implications are minimal. That being said, the true concern is the financial impact it has on resale. The cost of removal of this product can easily exceed $10,000. The unfortunate part of this for my client is that it is impossible to establish the asbestos content without lab analysis. At my clients request and the permission of the homeowner I extract a sample and send it to the lab. Now we wait.
Wrapping up the inspection I still am perplexed as to the exact age of the home. I suggest to my client, who needs the information for her insurance company that from what I can surmise the home is at least 70 years old.
We all pack up and are ready to leave and an elderly gentleman walks past me on the sidewalk and he asks me if the home has been sold? I reply, not sure yet I was just providing an inspection. The gentleman than said “yes I remember when they moved this old stable up the hill” my ears perk up.
“Really” I replied, are you familiar with this building? He proceeded to give me the “in a nut shell” history.
It is in fact a circa century building. It was originally a stable on the mainfloor and a boarding house upstairs for the workers. In the 50’s it was moved up the hill and converted to a home. In the seventies it was lifted off the rubble foundation and a new block full basement was put under it and then the wood siding was stripped and the brick veneer was installed.
Now I can sleep at night
Thanks for tagging along
m
Hello, nice to see that you are tuning in for yet another home inspection. The adventure today takes us to the City of Kawartha Lakes, This was an interesting inspection for me. Not your typical home, you could almost say that this house was in disguise.
As I sit in my office filling out my report system in preparation for the afternoon inspection I try to predict what type of home I will be looking at. I am very accustom to the area I have done thousands of inspection over my career in this part of the city. Century home, I surmise. Maybe a large two story, possibly even a three story, there is a chance that it could be a home from the 50’s as well. Pulling up to the site about 15minutes early I pull up to the driveway and then park just out front of the house, on the street. (another good practice, if you have another inspection to get to the last thing you will want is to be stuck with the agent and buyers car blocking you in.) I am puzzled?
The home has a very traditional 3 story look about it, a small back room addition, standard Hip roof line with dormers. The puzzle is the siding. A brick veneer which is not uncommon but this exterior finish is missing the tradition brick arches over windows and doors and is a very odd colour, almost a pale white colour. Not what you typically see on century homes. Other clues are that there are some weeping holes present in the veneer. This practice to the best of my knowledge did not start happening until the mid to late sixties. Even then they were used sparsely. The concept of brick veneer weepers is twofold. The first consideration is to provide an avenue for moisture to escape. The brick veneer should be maintaining an air space of about one inch. Inevitably all homes will experience some degree of heat loss through their walls. When this heat loss passes through the building envelope the warm air comes into contact with the colder exterior finish, the warm air cools, condenses and turns to moisture and in theory, via the weep holes has an avenue to pass through the brick work. The second purpose of the weeping holes is that they allow the equalizing of air pressure on both sides of the veneer there by resisting the movement of exterior driven vapour or moisture from entering into the wall cavity.
When my client arrives I give the standard disclosure of what the process will entail and I ask her if the agents gave her an approximate age for the home? The young lady buying the home replies “Yes, they believe it is about 35 years of age”. I consider that for a moment and then proceed to tell my client that that estimate may be a little off and while we are going through the inspection I will try to establish a little more accurate circa of age for her. The first tell tale is present as soon as I walk in the front door. As we pass into the entrance we are greeted by a beautiful pine stair case that has been completely painted with a very dark choice of finish, but the beautiful lines of the meticulously turned balusters and the stout curves of the newel post are screaming “I am a century old”. Prior to commenting, I wonder if it has simply been recycled from another home. As I quickly scan the floor plan it is certainly not a typical layout for a 100 year old home. I am intrigued. I am excited to get down into the cellar to see what is going on down there. (true sign of a house geek) Time to start the head scratch, the foundation is concrete block. If I was looking at a century old basement, surely I would be looking at stone or maybe a first generation, very porous concrete pour. I reserve judgement until I can get a little more of the puzzle. I was hopeful that I was going to be able to see some of the floor framing, but no luck there, the ceiling has been completely sheathed with plywood. My next clue is when I start to check what we refer to as a representative number of receptacles I find that I am seeing a large amount of ungrounded circuits. The service panel had been upgraded but still had some of the old ungrounded romex wire. This is a good clue to age I now know that this wiring was done in the late 40’s or early 50’s. Once I get to the 3rd story another clue is uncovered, “vermiculite insulation” this product had two strong spurts of use. The first was in the early 50’s which is matching the age of the wiring. The second was in the late 70’s and early 80’s. This second era of use is the basis for my only real major concern as we go through the inspection.
The vermiculite insulation that was used in the 70’s had two main producer of this product, the name brands used were “Micafil” and “Zonolite” The concern is that the Zonolite was discovered to have a higher than acceptable level of asbestos within the product. While the remedial actions as prescribed by Health Canada and CMHC are relatively simple, encapsulation (cover with another insulating product).Assuming the insulation is not disturbed the health implications are minimal. That being said, the true concern is the financial impact it has on resale. The cost of removal of this product can easily exceed $10,000. The unfortunate part of this for my client is that it is impossible to establish the asbestos content without lab analysis. At my clients request and the permission of the homeowner I extract a sample and send it to the lab. Now we wait.
Wrapping up the inspection I still am perplexed as to the exact age of the home. I suggest to my client, who needs the information for her insurance company that from what I can surmise the home is at least 70 years old.
We all pack up and are ready to leave and an elderly gentleman walks past me on the sidewalk and he asks me if the home has been sold? I reply, not sure yet I was just providing an inspection. The gentleman than said “yes I remember when they moved this old stable up the hill” my ears perk up.
“Really” I replied, are you familiar with this building? He proceeded to give me the “in a nut shell” history.
It is in fact a circa century building. It was originally a stable on the mainfloor and a boarding house upstairs for the workers. In the 50’s it was moved up the hill and converted to a home. In the seventies it was lifted off the rubble foundation and a new block full basement was put under it and then the wood siding was stripped and the brick veneer was installed.
Now I can sleep at night
Thanks for tagging along
m
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